Enter into Neth Space and you will find thoughts and reviews of books and other media that fit the general definition of speculative fiction. This includes the various genres and sub-genres of fantasy, science fiction, epic fantasy, high fantasy, hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, new weird, magical realism, cyberpunk, urban fantasy, slipstream, horror, alternative history, SF noir, etc. Thoughts are my own, I'm certainly not a professional, just an avid reader avoiding his day job.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Lian Hearn returns to a world of medieval Japan with a new series,
The Tale of Shikanoko, set in the
world of her earlier Otori series. Emperor
of the Eight Islands introduces this new series, as it explores the great
warrior tales of ancient Japan.

I have not read any of Lian Hearn’s previous books, though the Otori series has been on my shelf for
years waiting for me to come around. During my recent trip to Japan, I spent
some time in Northern Honshu in the region of the Great Tohoku earthquake and
tsunami, which is the same region in Japan where Hearn drew inspiration for
this series in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami. This in combination with
my having wanted to read Hearn’s books for years, made it an easy choice for me
to begin with this book.

The Tale of Shikanoko is told in what feels like a very Japanese writing style –
elegant, poetic, and minimalist. Which is to say, a style that I am not very
used to. At first it felt very wooden, more like a ledger account than a story,
lacking emotion and intimacy. However, as I grew used to the style I realized
that this wasn’t the case. The minimalism of the story doesn’t lack the
intimacy that I was looking for – it was just more subtle and shown a bit
differently. By the end of book I had not only learned to appreciate the style
of the story, but I can see how the approach makes emotional punches that much
more effective.

This is a story of an older time – a feudal Japanese world, a time
of divine emperors, magic and mysticism where the spirits of the land and those
of people are much closer. A time when the world was a smaller place, and
humans were a smaller presence. It is a time before (perhaps just before?) the
arrival of temples of Buddhism and where the politics and rivals of the elite
dominate everything.

In this, The Tale of
Shikanoko is not just a great example of Asian-inspired medieval fantasy,
but it’s a bridge for those deeply attached to fantasy inspired by medieval
Britain and surrounding environs. The parallels are rather striking – a deep mystical
tradition of living close the spirits of the land that is threatened by the
arrival of a religion from abroad, and a feudal society dominated by the elite
where rivals backed by traditions from abroad are at war. At the heart of this
tale is a young man connected to the spirit of a great stag. It’s still early
in the series to know just where it will end, but I think it’s not a stretch to
believe that this young man is bound for some form of greatness, and quite
likely, a tragic end. Before reading this book, I had never realized how the
Arthurian traditions of Britain so closely parallel the warrior tales of Japan.
This of course will lead to the inevitable decrees that TheTale of Shikanoko is
the Japanese King Arthur, which is a disservice to both in spite of the very
real parallels.

But it really misses the point for me to frame this story in terms
of similarities to ‘Western’ traditions and that is not my intent. Merely an
observation that I came to time and again while reading.

These are human tales – universal tales of power and love,
betrayal and victory, loss and change. It’s a coming of age story, I believe it
will become a story of revenge. A story of love, hate, betrayal, and everything
in between.

Emperor of the Eight
Islands is the first book in this series of four, all
of which will be published in 2016. It is the opening, the origin story, the
telling of how the stones are placed before the real game begins. It is the
first quarter of a whole rather than an independent work, and as appropriate
for the minimalist prose, it weighs in at only 270 pages. In many ways I’ve
reviewed this book as if I know what’s ahead, which is untrue. I have not read
the others in this series, though I now look forward to doing so. It is a
universal tale, one that we’ve heard before, though the details are different.
Of course most universal tales are tales of change, so what changes are in
store?

Monday, April 25, 2016

It’s a word that I initially wanted to avoid at all costs for this
review as I suspect that it’s probably used in just about every review of Swords and Scoundrels by Julia Knight.
But, the more I thought about it, I came to conclude that it’s a word that
should be fully embraced.

Swashbuckling – it just roles off the tongue. It’s fun to say. It’s
one of those words.

So…let’s take a look at what it really means to swashbuckle and be
a swashbuckler.

Well, yes, this covers the 2 main characters (a sister and brother
duo) in Swords and Scoundrels. It
covers it really well, each having different aspects of a swashbuckler. But,
it’s really this definition below that I think captures the book.

[to] Swashbuckle: engage in daring and romantic adventures with
ostentatious bravado or flamboyance.

That definition above is Swords
and Scoundrels in a nutshell, though with some very important caveats. As I
said, the book is about a sister/brother duo, each embodying different swashbuckling
aspects in different ways – one traditionally flamboyant and one a fair bit
darker, though no less a swashbuckler for that darkness. It’s the duality in
many ways that has brings more to Swords
and Scoundrels than the traditional swashbuckling adventure, offering
swashbuckling commentary and even subversion of swashbuckling. Throw in a
fantasy setting, large-scale clockworks, a magician or two, and nice bit of
populism to add depth, and Swords and
Scoundrels is the perfect swashbuckling tale. And as the book is the first
in the Duelist Trilogy, there are 2
more presumably equally swashbuckling adventures to follow – excellent!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Updraft by Fran Wilde was released with a fair bit of critical fan-fair
in 2015 and I read it a few months post-release based largely on that the good
word of many of those I follow in the blogging world. My thoughts on the book
are somewhat mixed, though I believe that to be largely a result of relatively
high expectations I had from reading other reactions.

In short, I liked the book, I really enjoyed the turns the plot
takes, a few of the surprises that are thrown about, and the more political
machinations. Where I struggled a bit is with the whole flying thing and the
general weirdness of the world.

It’s not that I don’t like a good, weird world of fantasy, it’s
just that I was never completely sold on it. I’ve seen the comparisons to this
book and worlds created by the likes of China Miéville and I just can’t take
things that far. Yes, Miéville creates some very weird worlds, but those
creations aren’t questioned in my reading of them, just marveled at. And the
very weirdness of those creations usually serves an important point in the
thematic goals of the writing. It’s not Wilde doesn’t do these things with her
world, it’s just that it didn’t completely work for me. I understand that
keeping the origins of these mysteries is key, and I also get that this is
fantasy, so fantastic and unexplainable things are around. But it still didn’t
gel the way I would have like to see.

However, I don’t want to dwell on these, as they didn’t really
bother me all that much. I did like the book. I am looking forward to reading
the sequel. And I’m happy to recommend the book to readers at the blog here. Updraft is a coming-of-age story, it is
the story of a child seeking information about a parent, there are secrets, and
what I enjoyed most is that it’s a story about a moment of upheaval in a
society that can and will likely end in a very different place. Plus, living
bone towers and people flying around way above a distant, fog-covered ground –
it might not have completely worked for me, but is still sounds pretty awesome.

Updraft is the first novel in a planned trilogy in the Bone Universe. The second novel, Cloudbound is forthcoming in September, 2016.

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About Me

I’m just a guy avoiding the responsibilities of my day job by blogging about the books I love. Far from being a true critic, I’m just a fan who has come to love sharing my thoughts on the books I read and other general happenings in the SFF world. The side bar has plenty of links to contact info, reviewing policy, and indexes of reviews and other posts in addition to numerous links of interest.